JULES BRETON | PORTRAIT D'HOMME (STUDY FOR UN GRAND PARDON BRETON)

The artist's studio (and sold, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, June 2-3, 1911, lot 167, illustrated, as Le Chouan)

Comtesse de Guigné (acquired at the above sale) 

Sale: François Branger, Angers, December 14, 1991, lot 334, illustrated 

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Portrait d’homme is a preparatory study for one of the figures in Jules Breton’s major composition Un grand pardon Breton (1869, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana). Breton was fascinated with the culture and customs of Brittany, particularly the religious traditions of the region and the devoutness of the people, which he discovered during his first trip to Douarnez in 1865. One such tradition was the pardon, a penitential ceremony that took place each summer to celebrate the feast days of particular patron saints with large, elaborate processions. Un grand pardon Breton was inspired by a pardon at Saint-Anne-la-Palud. Breton completed a number of studies and sketches for this composition, though only a few have been located. The present lot is a study for one of the men leading the procession. The figure’s powerful stare contributes to the overall intensity of the finished composition.

We would like to thank Annette Bourrut Lacouture for confirming the authenticity of this lot and for providing catalogue information, and Marie-Isabelle Pinet for providing additional research. This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné on the artist.